Today’s a big day!

The party you’ve planned will have all eyes on your child, and the people who gather may give no more than a fleeting glance at you.

I know you wouldn’t have it any other way. Ever since a little plastic stick revealed that you shared your body with someone else, that birthday girl has been your world. As you celebrate her today, you’re reminiscing on the day you first saw her face.

And while the essence of motherhood wants the celebration to be all about your baby girl, the essence of your womanhood might still want someone to see you. So while you’re both celebrating her today, I want to celebrate you.

I think you deserve it, because today is the anniversary of the day you relinquished your rights to yourself and became a mama.

Happy “Mamaversary”, mama.

You’ve done incredible things since that day. Don’t forget that.

You kept a baby alive by sacrificing sleep, meals, and time to yourself. You watched your life fall apart, but rebuilt it into something remarkable. You transformed into a brand new version of yourself. That’s no small thing.

Your clothes are often stained with someone else’s bodily fluids. You eat cold scraps of food and call it “lunch.” Your conversations with friends have become centered on things you never thought you’d actually want to talk about. Your purse is full of plastic toys instead of a pleasure-reading book. You spend your evenings collapsed on the couch, and you don’t know how to feel about the changes in your relationship with your husband.

You’ve wept at the endlessness of summer vacation, and have grieved as your little one disappeared behind the school doors. You crave time for yourself but your heart aches when she’s gone.

You’ve marveled at the incredible things your body can accomplish. You’ve also felt the sting of betrayal as certain parts of your body stubbornly insist on doing things your mother warned you about.

You can’t enjoy snacks or bathroom breaks in peace. Sometimes you wish the constant noise would stop, just

for

a

single

second.

Sometimes you’ve lost yourself. Sometimes you’ve resented the incessant demands on your heart, mind, body, and time. I know.

Sometimes you ask yourself if you can keep going. And many times, you’ve asked God why He assigned such a weighty job to such a broken person. I know.

I also know that even when you’re weeping on the kitchen floor and counting the hours until bedtime, you know this is a gift. No matter how hard yesterday was or what you fear today may hold, you keep showing up. It’s what you do.

So to encourage you today, I want to remind you of something you can’t afford to forget.

This isn’t up to you.

The meals and the laundry? Yeah, those technically are. But the big picture of raising this child into the adult you pray they’ll become? It’s not up to you.

Sweet friend, take heart. Believe God’s promises to you.

He has begun a work – in you and in your child – that He will not abandon until it is completed. (Philippians 1:6)

He has designed you for doing this good work. (Ephesians 2:10)

He knows every day before it happens and holds it in His hands. (Psalm 139:16)

He is with you in every moment, giving you what you need when you need it. (Deuteronomy 31:6, Matthew 6:33)

He never takes His eyes off you. (Psalm 139:2,7)

He loves your child more than you do, and has plans for her life that you cannot fathom. (Ephesians 3:20)

He is working in your child to fulfill His purposes. Your job is simply to point her to Christ and teach her to follow His lead. (Proverbs 22:6)

Sweet mama, you are so good at what you do.

If I could, I’d send you flowers and a card to celebrate all that you are. Accept these words as a hug from a friend and enjoy this day, because while the pretty packages on the table are meant for someone else, you’ve been given a pretty amazing gift, too.

With love,

Another Mama On The Journey